Ronnie Burns (Australian)

:"This article is about the Australian singer. For others by the same name, see Ronnie Burns".Ronnie Burns (born Ronald Leslie Burns on 8 September 1946) is an Australian pop singer and former lead singer of Melbourne Band "The Flies" and former member of "Cotton Morris & Burns"

Born in Melbourne, Burns began singing with the Mod band, The Flies, in early 1964 when they entered a "Moomba" Band Competition for a band most like "The Beatles" which they won. They were seen by Melbourne Promoter Garry Spry who was looking for a resident band for a new rock club he was about to open in March 1964 called Pinocchios. The Flies line up consisted of John Thomas (lead guitar) Themi Adams (bass guitar), Hank Wallace (drums) and Ronnie Burns (rhythm guitar & lead singer). The Flies were the first long haired band in Australia and drew heavily on The Beatles musical and fashion influences and soon began drawing a huge following. Garry Spry became their manager and he got them a recording deal with RCA Records and they soon began recording in Sydney with young producer/engineer David McKay. The first single "TELL HER THAT" was a hit in Melbourne only.

During this time he befriended a young uni-student who boarded at his parents home and years later was to become an Australian music guru Ian 'Molly' Meldrum. The two were famously ejected from The Beatles' June 1964 Australian tour for being too enthusiastic. After six months residency at "Pinocchios" Spry started booking the band into Sydney (where they were arrested for vagrancy for having hair to their shoulders, but it was great publicity making all the papers) Whilst in Sydney they recorded their second single "DOING THE MOD" that was to become a hit in both Sydney and Melbourne and became their signature song.

In January 1965 The Flies supported the Rolling Stones and Roy Orbison on their first Australian Tour.

In May 1965 they embarked on their own tour of Victorian, New South Wales, South Australian and Tasmanian City's and Towns which ran for six weeks, this was a ground breaking Tour for those Pioneer days. During the Tour their third single "Can't You Feel" composed by Burns/Thomas was Released and was a minor hit throughout Australia. At this particular period of time The Flies had become with Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs the two top bands in the Country.

In September 1965 Ronnie Burns decided to leave The Flies and go solo and his place in the band was taken by Peter Nicholl from the "Wild Colonials".
Jeff Joseph who ran "Pinocchios Promotions" the Entertainment Agency for Spry's Artists, left and became the new manager for Ronnie Burns. An E.P record was released by RCA comprising 4 tracks off their singles, but entitled "The Flies vocal by RONNIE BURNS".

Ronnie Burns went on to become one of Australia's most popular pop singers from the mid 1960's to the mid 1970's. His most succeessful recordings are
* "Smiley" (1969 - #1 Sydney #3 Melbourne #3 Brisbane #10 Adelaide),
* "Coalman" (1967 - #5 Sydney #5 Melbourne #8 Brisbane #8 Adelaide),
* "Exit, Stage Right" (1967 - #15 Sydney #12 Melbourne #15 Brisbane) and
* "All The King's Horses" (1967 - #5 Sydney).

"Smiley", a song about a young man sent to the Vietnam war, has since become synonymous in Australia with that era and is a pop classic. The other three songs were all written by the Gibb brothers of The Bee Gees fame.

On his first solo album "Ronnie" he was backed by The Bee Gees.

He later supported artists such as Peter, Paul & Mary, and The Bee Gees In the 1990s he formed, a trio with fellow Australian 1960's pop icons called Cotton, Morris & Burns, including Russell Morris and Darryl Cotton.

His daughter Lauren Burns won a gold medal in Taekwondo at the 2000 Olympics.Burns currently lives with his wife in Tasmania and tours the speaking circuit. In 1998, he and his wife founded Appin Hall Children’s Foundation, a refuge for children with chronic illness and orphans of war.

External links

* [http://poparchives.com.au/feature.php?id=1357 The Flies feature - Lyn Nuttall's "Where Did They Get That Song" website]
* [http://poparchives.com.au/feature.php?id=1183 Ronnie Burns feature - Lyn Nuttall's "Where Did They Get That Song" website]
* [http://www.milesago.com/artists/burns.htm Milesago website]
* [http://www.ozmusicbooks.com/merchant.ihtml?id=2939&step=2 Gavin Ryan's Chart Books]
* [http://www.soulpurposemag.com.au/articels/issue2/article3.htm Soul Purpose webpage]
* [http://www.entertainmentstore.com.au/engine/SID/1000083/AID/100535.htm Ronnie Burns - Entertainment Store website]

References

* The Who's Who of Australian Rock - Chris Spencer -1993 Edition - Moonlight Publishing
* Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop - Ian McFarlane 1999
* Noel McGrath's Australian Encyclopedia of Rock & Pop - Rigby/Outback Press 1978